What should the new hospital at Southmead be called?

STAFF who had their say on the name for the new Southmead Hospital have put forward their cases for the different options.

As reported in The Post, North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT), which runs the hospital, wants the public to share their views on whether there should be a new name for the super-hospital, which is due to open next year.

As services from Frenchay and Southmead hospitals are brought together on the one site, chief executive Marie-Noelle Orzel said it was the opportune time to reconsider whether there should be a name change.

Hundreds of employees submitted their ideas for the £430 million hospital's name and along with keeping Southmead they suggested naming it Bristol Brunel, Elizabeth Blackwell or Prince William hospital.

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Head of information governance at NBT Helen Williamson whose family moved to Southmead Road in 1967 in a house then owned by the hospital, believes its name should stay.

"Southmead and Southmead Hospital have proudly been part of Bristol's heritage and community for over 100 years, from its humble beginnings as a workhouse to the nationally and internationally renowned hospital leading the way in many specialist services and medical technologies we know today," she said.

"Southmead Hospital grounds became my community, world and playground but what I remember most is the family community spirit that existed in and around Southmead Hospital, which still exists today."

Clinical nurse specialist and sexual health adviser Kieran Sharkey believes Isambard Kingdom Brunel should be acknowledged in the new hospital's name.

"I believe that Brunel is a great name for the hospital," he said. "Brunel was an inspirational engineer and architect responsible for many of the landmarks that Bristol is famous for including the Clifton Suspension Bridge, Temple Meads, ss Great Britain and the Great Western Railway.

"He was considered a forward thinker and ahead of his time; two important elements shared with the new hospital.

"It would therefore be a fitting testament that the hospital be named after Brunel, both as a tribute to him and a reminder that the healthcare staff strive for the best patient care through innovation."

Elizabeth Blackwell, who was born and grew up in Bristol, was the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States, as well as the first woman on the UK medical register and was a pioneer in promoting the education of women in medicine in the United States, and a social and moral reformer in both the United States and in England.

Radiographer Keegan Streeter said: "I feel quite strongly that the hospital be given a unique identity that can be related to both Bristol and its residents. Naming the hospital after someone who dedicated their life to medicine and who achieved so much in the medical field seems quite fitting, especially as Elizabeth Blackwell herself was a Bristolian."

Doreen Rapson, secretary for the trust's health and safety team believes the hospital should be named after Prince William.

"To me William like his mother before him cares a lot about people, poor, rich, old, young, it doesn't really matter," she said.

"If there is help or support needed I think he would help, why, because he is such a caring person.

"This is what I relate to our own trust where caring for the patients is the most important factor."

To name the hospital after Prince William would require approval by the Lord Lieutenant's office.